The upsurge in winter sports in recent years has given rise to the rapid development of natural ski areas, which have been appearing throughout the world. However, because of the large areas of land they occupy and because of seasonal, weather, and cost factors, natural ski areas are generally built far from cities. Furthermore, natural ski areas are available for use only under certain conditions, namely during cold winters with below-freezing temperatures, snowy weather, and snow packs of a certain depth. These multiple requirements restrict the spread and development of these sports. Therefore, many countries have begun to research and develop artificial snow and artificial ski areas and have achieved a degree success. For example, artificial snow made with snow-making technologies from water-based materials can replace natural snow or improve its performance and quality. The drawback is that it is costly and requires a huge amount of water and electricity. Also, like natural snow, it is subject to air temperature and seasonal weather conditions. In addition, even in the winter, it is not unusual for artificial snow, after it has formed, to melt as soon as it hits the ground. This is not only a tremendous waste of resources; it is also the cause of the high cost of operations at ski areas now. To a certain extent, it also has a negative impact on the popularization of skiing sports. Another technology is plastic skiing grass and artificial ski areas that are composed of this kind of skiing grass. Skis slide over it as though over snow, but it has more resistance. Moreover, the physical and chemical properties of skiing grass and ski areas composed of skiing grass are far inferior to those of natural snow and natural ski areas. They rarely provide the full sensation and results of actual skiing. In addition, there are artificial snow and artificial ski areas made with silica gel. However, this kind of artificial snow swells instantly upon contact with water. It basically cannot be put to commercial use.
The above-described artificial ski areas, whether ski areas consisting of artificially-cooled snow, or skiing-grass ski areas or ski areas based on silica gel artificial snow, are subject to some of the same limitations that natural ski areas are subject to: they occupy large areas, are costly, are obviously dependent on seasons and the weather, and require certain environmental conditions. Therefore, to a certain extent, there is still no truly significant artificial snow or artificial ski area that is resistant to the weather, is inexpensive, is not limited to certain temperatures, and is applicable both indoors and out.